• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.79 no.3
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• pp.165-178
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• 2016

Background: Although recent metagenomic approaches have characterized the distinguished microbial compositions in airways of asthmatics, these results did not reach a consensus due to the small sample size, non-standardization of specimens and medication status. We conducted a metagenomics approach by using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of the induced whole sputum representing both the cellular and fluid phases in a relative large number of steroid $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ asthmatics. Methods: Induced whole sputum samples obtained from 36 healthy subjects and 89 steroid-$na{\ddot{i}}ve$ asthma patients were analyzed through T-RFLP analysis. Results: In contrast to previous reports about microbiota in the asthmatic airways, the diversity of microbial composition was not significantly different between the controls and asthma patients (p=0.937). In an analysis of similarities, the global R-value showed a statistically significant difference but a very low separation (0.148, p=0.002). The dissimilarity in the bacterial communities between groups was 28.74%, and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) contributing to this difference were as follows: OTU 789 (Lachnospiraceae), 517 (Comamonadaceae, Acetobacteraceae, and Chloroplast), 633 (Prevotella), 645 (Actinobacteria and Propionibacterium acnes), 607 (Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus otakiensis, Lactobacillus sunkii, and Rhodobacteraceae), and 661 (Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Leptotrichiaceae), and they were significantly more prevalent in the sputum of asthma patients than in the sputum of the controls. Conclusion: Before starting anti-asthmatic treatment, the microbiota in the whole sputum of patients with asthma showed a marginal difference from the microbiota in the whole sputum of the controls.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.153-164
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• 2016

It is critical for adolescents to foster self-efficacy, creativity, and adventurous spirit as well as plans for appropriate career path in order to become good members of society. During this adolescent period, newspapers will be a good learning material as they deliver various and timely information in refined language. In this paper, we analyzed the impact of NIE on development of self-efficacy, awareness of career path, and entrepreneurship through comparing adolescents who regularly read newspapers with those who do not. We came up with the following result after analysis of surveys (with a sample size of 283) that targeted middle school and higher grade elementary school students across Korea. We confirmed that reading newspapers has a positive impact on development of self-efficacy, awareness of career path, and entrepreneurship. More specifically, reading newspapers regularly has a positive impact on development of self-efficacy that subsequently has a positive impact on development of awareness of career path and entrepreneurship. Therefore, we found that simply reading newspapers regularly has a positive impact on development of self-efficacy, awareness of career path, and entrepreneurship with no special programs utilizing the newspapers. This is because various information and opinions in newspapers help adolescents to develop their own views, improve understanding and awareness of career, and development of sociality including creativity and adventurous spirit. There is the meaning as the first research that this research checks what the NIE of the adolescents affects the positive impact to not only the self-efficacy and career awareness but also entrepreneurship.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.570-586
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of middle-aged retirement planning on individual's quality of life and overall satisfaction, and moderating effects of social and psychological sense of crisis, and the differences of measured variables in the demographic characteristics. Retirement planning that may be the most important factor in the country's social costs is aimed to provide a basis for fixing the interest in advance of retirement planning training and retirement. The subjects are workers who live in the Seoul metropolitan area and Gyonggi-do. Total sample size is 350, then 335 samples were collected on the data. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, house ownership and education level among demographic variables affects satisfaction of their life. People who do not own a house shows higher satisfaction, and higher education level affects satisfaction positively. Second, satisfaction is affected by transition to rest negatively, on the other hand, it is affected by expect of new beginning positively. Besides, No moderating effect of social and psychological crisis showed that negative life evaluation role to the independent variables. Third, cognitive information is affected by transition to rest and imposed disruption positively. Besides, job dissatisfaction adjusts between them. Fourth, improvement of life quality is not affected by expect of the retirement planning. On the other hand, there is not moderating effects of social and psychological sense of crisis.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.850-861
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• 2014

The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effects of simulation-based education on clinical competence and confidence in nursing students and summarize the available evidence on the simulation-based intervention. A systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA Statement was conducted. Studies published between 2005 and 2014 were reviewed using the following databases: RISS, KISS, and Google Scholar. The keywords used were nursing and either simulation or simulator. Selected studies were assessed for methodological quality using Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Seventeen studies were identified, including a total of 1,912 nursing students. All the 16 studies found simulation as a valid strategy on clinical competence and confidence in nursing education. This review provides updated evidence for simulation-based learning in nursing education. Further studies are needed to increase generalizability using randomized controlled trials, enough sample size, and longitudinal study design. In addition, valid measurements are needed to assess the main outcomes.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategy of future Korean medicine(KM) clinical research through the study on the current situation and issues for KM clinical research worldwide. In this study, the papers published in English through Pubmed were investigated mainly. And we analyzed the methodological issues from the clinical research reports in the KM fields. As a result of examining the current situation of the RCTs(Randomized Controlled Trials) studies in KM, the sample size for most studies was small and the overall methodological quality appeared to be low. And there was a discussion about whether or not to apply RCTs method to the KM clinical research. The majority of studies have argued the use of RCTs method for KM clinical research. In addition, we could find some problems through the analysis of KM clinical studies. First, the majority of RCTs in KM were of low quality. Second, RCTs method was applied to the KM clinical studies according to the Western medicine methods only. Third, the actual KM diagnosis was not used in the KM studies and inadequate outcomes measurement methods were utilized without considering the characteristics of KM practice. The methodological issues in the KM clinical research were caused by the conflict between the characteristics of KM practice and clinical research method based on the western medicine.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 2006

Because shipyard workers are involved with various manufacturing process in shipyard industry, and they are exposed to many kinds of hazardous materials. Especially, painting workers were exposed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). This study was conducted to assess the exposure status of PAH based on job-exposure matrix. We investigated the effect of genetic polymorphism of xenobiotic metabolism enzymes involved in PAH metabolism on levels of urinary metabolite. A total of 93 shipbuilding workers were recruited in this study. Questionnaire variables were age, sex, use of personal protective equipment, smoking, drinking, and work duration. The urinary metabolite was collected in the afternoon and corrected by urinary creatinine concentration. The genotypes of CYP1A1, CYP2E1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and UGT1A6 were investigated by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods with DNA extracted from venous blood. Urinary 1-OHP levels were significantly higher in direct exposured group (spray and touch-up) than indirect exposed group. Urinary 1-OHP, concentration of the high exposure with wild type of UGT1A6 was significantlyhigher than that of the high exposure with other UGT1A6 genotype. In multiple regression analysis of urinary 1-OHP, the regression coefficient of job grade was statistically significant (p<0.05) and UGT1A6 was not significant but a trend (p<0.1). The grade of exposure affected urinary PAH concentration was statistically significant. But genetic polymorphism of xenobiotics metabolism enzymes was not statistically significant. Further investigation of genetic polymorphism with large sample size is needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.415-417
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• 2002

Images of microcalcification specks showed large variation in conventional radiographs of phantoms which are approved for mammography image quality standard by the American College of Radiology (ACR). This kind of variation is not appropriate for image quality standards because the number of specks are visually counted in images and that number is important in image quality evaluation. Our study using synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging revealed the overlapping of micro-sized air bubble(s) to some specks, and also the structural deformation or crackings. Eight phantoms approved by ACR from two different makers and an air-bubble phantom were examined. SR imaging was performed at a synchrotron radiation facility, SPring-8, in Japan. The image-detector was a fluorescent-screen optical-lens coupling system using a CCD camera with a spatial resolution of 6 $\square$m. Objects when imaged with longer sample-to-detector distance show edge enhancement due to a difference in refraction indices, that is refraction enhancement. Refraction-enhanced SR images revealed that some of specks carried foreign objects, which were proven to be air. In phantoms provided by one maker, attaching/overlapping airs were observed for 62 out of 150 specks (41%) , with a higher incidence for the smallest specks. A speck becomes hardly visible in a conventional radiograph when air(s) overlaps the majority part of a speck, though depending on the size of the air-inclusion and on its configuration. Those airs might have been adsorbed on a speck surface before being embedded and then introduced into the matrix together with specks. Our study using SR imaging has clearly shown the nature of defects in some mammography phantoms which seriously degrade the quality as an image standard.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.2 s.53
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• pp.311-329
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• 1996

This study was designed to compare the level of medical utilization between the urban and rural areas of Korea and to explain the differences between the two regions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey performed by the Korean Institute of Health & Social Affairs in 1992 were used for this study utilizing a sample size of 21,841 people. The level of medical utilization such as the number of physician visits and the number of hospital admissions was compared between the regions with ANOVA. Various determinants for medical use were also compared by univariate analysis. Statistical models which included enabling factors, predisposing factors, need factors and region were constructed for bivariate analysis in order to further elucidate the level of medical utilization. The results were as follows: 1. There was greater medical use, both in terms of physician visits and inpatient care in the rural areas in spite of insufficient health resources. The particular reasons for higher medical utilization in rural areas were attributed to a higher number of initial physician visits as well as a longer the length of stay per hospital admission. Therefore, indicators representing the degree of met need (utilization/need) showed no significant difference between rural and urban areas in spite of the fact that the medical need is larger in rural areas. 2. Use of public health facilities received a significant portion of physician visits in the rural area. The government's effort to enhance primary health care through health centers, health subcenters and the nurse practitioner's post in rural areas has contributed to the increase of access to medical care in the rural areas. 3. There were some differences in the socio-demographic characteristics between two regions ; There were more elderly people over the age of 65: unstable marital status, less education and lower incomes also characterized the rural areas. Therefore, among rural people, there were more predisposing factors for medical use. Additionaly, need factors such as poor self-reported health status and high morbidity level were also high in the rural area. 4. In contrast it was learned that, the supply of health resources was mostly concentrated in the urban areas except for public health facilities. Therefore, geographical access to medical care was lower in the rural area both in terms travel time and travel cost. 5. The coefficient of the region variable was insignificant in the regression model which controlled the supply factor only. However, utilization was significantly higher in urban areas if the model included predisposing factors and need factors in addition to the supply factor. The results were interpreted as rural people have greater medical needs.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.513-517
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• 2013

We investigated the properties of impregnated activated carbons, a commercial adsorbent for the individual protection equipment, and examined CO adsorption and oxidation to $CO_2$. The surface area, pore volume and pore size were measured for four commercial samples using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller/Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BET/BJH), and atomic compositions of the sample surface were analyzed based on SEM/EDS and XPS. Impregnated activated carbons containing Mn and Cu for fire showed the catalytic CO oxidation to $CO_2$ with a high catalytic activity (up to 99% $CO_2$ yield), followed by the CO adsorption at an initial reaction time. On the other hand, C: for chemical biologial and radiological (CBR) samples, not including Mn, showed a lower CO conversion to $CO_2$ (up to 60% yield) compared to that of fire samples. It was also found that a heat-treated activated carbon has a higher removal capacity both for CO and $CO_2$ at room temperature than that of untreated carbon, which was probably due to the impurity removal in pores resulted in a detection-delay about 30 min.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1347-1350
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer prognosis is influenced by several histopathology and clinical factors including expression of Ki67 which may have a predictive role in lymph node negative breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to assess Ki67 expression in breast cancers without axillary lymph node involvement and to evaluate its prognostic value with regard to disease-free survival. Materials and Methods: Subjects were selected from non-metastatic invasive breast cancer patients who were referred to the oncology department of Ghaem hospital during 1 April 2001 to 1 April 2008. Ki67 levels were measured using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and compared with clinicopathological features. The relation of Ki67 expression with disease-free survival was also analysed. Results: A total of 106 women with a mean age of 49 were examined. Some 94.3% were classified as having invasive ductal carcinomas and the mean tumour diameter at the time of diagnosis was 2.8 cm. Some 50.9% of cases were ER positive and 47.2% were PR positive. P53 expression was positive in 48.1% of the cases. According to the IHC results, only 8.5% of the patients were Her2/neu positive. Ki67 was positive in 66 (62.3%) with a significant relation to lower age (p=0.0229) and P53 positivity (p=0.005). After an average of 40-months follow up, 13 (12.3%) demonstrated recurrence, most commonly systemic. Of 13 cases with relapse, 10 patients (77%) were Ki67 positive. Conclusions: In our population Ki67 appeared to be an independent prognostic factor for three-year survival. However, we stress that a survival study with a bigger sample size would help to support this conclusion.